By: Shelley Jane
Graff
The
video game industry and the film industry have, in recent years, become
inextricably linked with the emergence of the film adapted video game
sub-genre. The subsequent mashing of
resources via various major media-producing outlets that such a genre requires
is bound to come with a whole new set of issues. However, one question at this point in time seems
to reign supreme: what does it mean to
make a successful film-adapted video game?
The
obvious answer to that question, being: income/sales; yet, upon further
investigation one can conclude that far more is at stake than mere revenue
returns. According to Dr. Robert Brookey
in his book, Hollywood Gamers: Digital
Convergence in the Film and Game Industries, the film adapted video game as
a product has far more significance than most other ancillary film merchandise
does. Such games have become an
extension of the franchise. Brookey
writes: “…the interactivity of the games draws players in while constantly
relating the experience of game play to the experience of the theatrical films,
allowing the fan of LOTR to become more closely connected with the film
franchise.” (P. 37) These games have the unique ability to act as fodder to
further support one's personal investment in said franchise as an “involved”
fan.
Perhaps
it would be worthwhile to examine those film adapted video games that seemed to
fail to supplement their respective films to be able to understand this inquiry
more completely. In the article, “5Video Game Adaptations That Missed the Point of the Movie,” an examination of various video games proves that despite the fact that video
games have the capacity to extend the narrative/franchise, the game’s content
must still significantly connect to, or represent, the original product. Failure to faithfully represent thematic
elements from the movie in the game play works against the synergy that both
industries (video game and film) are inevitably banking on.
(Word
Count = 316 words total)
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